1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
an irretrievable drug addict who had wasted a once-promising life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irreparable
not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
this is just an irretrievable mess, so let's start all over again
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Recent Examples of irretrievable
Choi seems to be exploring, if subtly, the limitless number of paths a person can take, the manifold consequences of choices that seem inconsequential, the ways interpersonal disputes can widen into irretrievable losses, the awkward intersections of agency and fate: If only this, if not for that.
—
Book Marks
june 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
Lawmakers warn that evidence critical to future war crimes investigations may be irretrievable.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
And there was data that was lost, that was irretrievable.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Book Marks
june 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
Lawmakers warn that evidence critical to future war crimes investigations may be irretrievable.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
And there was data that was lost, that was irretrievable.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irretrievable
Adjective
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To summarize, the protagonist, lost in hopeless days, eventually stumbles upon a deserted dance hall.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
17 Oct. 2025
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The movie, which premiered in the midnights section of the Toronto International Film Festival, follows a hopeless romantic who makes a Faustian bargain to win his crush’s heart.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Many residents said the flooding reached the ceiling of their homes, and so much — from mattresses to appliances to cars — was now irreparable.—
Cristopher Rogel Blanquet,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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For instance, an injunction to stop a company from polluting a lake is premised on the idea that damage to a lake and the life in it is irreparable.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Miners argue increased subjection to the dust has led to an eruption of black lung, an incurable disease associated with inhaling the particles.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
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According to the Cleveland Clinic, LMD is an incurable condition in which cancer cells spread from an advanced cancer to the cerebrospinal fluid and the membranes around the brain and spinal cord.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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With the climate, these points of no return are specific moments when the planet has warmed so much that certain effects become irreversible.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
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Hospitals are also reporting rapid-onset blindness, irreversible comas and organ failure within hours of ingestion.—
Alessandra Freitas,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Broadly speaking, this is probably not irrecoverable damage to the ecosystem.—
Joan Meiners,
AZCentral.com,
19 July 2025
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Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787's engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.—
Dan Catchpole,
USA Today,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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Multi-year studies were interrupted and often unrecoverable, loss of support personnel to manage animal facilities and lack of resources to purchase mice, inability to purchase routine critical supplies and equipment.—
D. Scott Schmid,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
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Instead, in the U.S., projects are litigated and delayed, often to make the project economics untenable and the investment unrecoverable.—
Anna Broughel,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Additionally, the court found that after considering several factors, the government failed to prove that Abrego Garcia poses an irremediable danger to the community.—
Greg Wehner , Bill Mears,
FOXNews.com,
23 June 2025
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Despite the incident, The Animal Haven reaffirmed its no-kill shelter status, and clarified that euthanasia in cases of irremediable canine aggression is in line with the Best Friends Animal Society's definition of no-kill.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
Newsweek,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Mary Roy, too, married to flee violence—her father, a civil servant under the British, beat his wife and whipped his children—only to find that her husband was an incorrigible drunk.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
3 Sep. 2025
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Who was this alien observer, whose gaze made me into a (slightly) better person, whose gaze (slightly) reduced my incorrigible self-centeredness?—
Michael W. Clune,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irretrievable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irretrievable. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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